All the very latest on the Liverpool injury and availability situation before Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Germany with RB Leipzig.
Arne Slot’s record-breaking start to life as Liverpool head coach continued on Sunday as his in-form side regained top spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 home victory over Chelsea. But it was a victory that may have come at a cost.
Diogo Jota, who has been Slot’s first-choice centre-forward so far this season, was forced off in the first half while after the match it was revealed that Conor Bradley had also picked up an injury.It was the last thing that Slot needed at the start of a hectic run of seven games in 21 days that continues on Wednesday when the Reds head to Germany to take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Liverpool have made the perfect start to the revamped group stage of the competition, taking maximum points following their 3-1 and 2-0 home and away wins over Serie A duo AC Milan and Bologna respectively.Next up is the Bundesliga outfit Leipzig. And ahead of the match we take a look at some of the injury concerns the Reds currently have…Diogo JotaInjury: Not specified.
The striker was injured early on against Chelsea after he was hauled down near the halfway line by Tosin Adaraiboyo. In an incident that contained similarities to the one that saw William Saliba dismissed for Arsenal in their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth the previous night, the Chelsea defender was controversially only given a yellow card by referee John Brooks, despite being the last man back for his side.
Jota was given treatment at the time and initially played on before he was forced to concede defeat and come off for Darwin Nunez in the 30th minute.Afterwards, his manager seemed to rule the Portuguese out of the trip to Leipzig. Slot said: “Diogo had to be substituted, I don’t know what it is but I would be surprised if he’s there on Wednesday.
Possible return date: Unknown.
Conor BradleyInjury: Not specified.
Slot is likely to give an update on Jota at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
The same applies to Bradley, who unexpectedly missed out against Chelsea after returning from international duty with Northern Ireland.Bradley’s injury has not been clarified but it very nearly left Liverpool in the lurch on Sunday as No.1 right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was only cleared to play after he was one of a number of players in the squad to feel ill before the game.Alexander-Arnold struggled through the match before being replaced late on by Joe Gomez.
Possible return date: Unknown.
Federico ChiesaInjury: Unspecified.
Federico Chiesa has now missed the Reds’ last three matches with an unspecified issue. The last time Slot was asked about the Italy international was before the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace before the international break.
The Dutchman said then: “He didn’t train in the last days, he came in today to see if he could train. If he can, then I still have a decision to make as we can only select 20 and he hasn’t trained for a few days. But first of all we have to wait and see if he can even train.”All eyes on the club’s social media channels tomorrow when footage from the club’s training session before taking on Leipzig is expected to be released.
Possible return date: Unknown.
Harvey ElliottInjury: Foot.
The fractured foot Harvey Elliott suffered while on England Under-21 international has kept the midfielder sidelined since early September.Sunday’s visit of Chelsea had long pencilled in as a potential return date and last week the player himself hinted that he is closing on full fitness with a post on social media.
But Liverpool have no intention of rushing the 21-year-old back to action and he wasn’t included in their squad on Sunday.
Elliott was, though, spotted at the game speaking to Anfield great Jamie Carragher, with some supporters believing he gave away the time he still has left on the sidelined.Let’s wait until what Slot says.
Possible return date: Unknown.Alisson BeckerInjury: Hamstring.
One player who will certainly be missing for Liverpool on Wednesday is goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who is out for a minimum of six weeks after sustaining a new hamstring in the Palace triumph.The Brazil international will miss vital upcoming games against Arsenal away and a visit from Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League among others.
But at least Alisson’s understudy, Caoimhin Kelleher, has recovered from the illness that sidelined him against Palace, and which forced Vitezslav Jaros to come on for his debut after the club’s No.1 limped off.
Possible return date: Southampton (A), Premier League, Sunday, November 24.
